FBI Ordered to Expedite Release of Papers

DAVID PACE

Published
6:00 pm CST, Monday, December 9, 2002

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) _ A federal judge ordered the FBI into court this week to say when it will release sensitive information sought by a whistle-blower fired after she raised allegations of security lapses in the agency's translator program.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle scheduled a Friday hearing after ruling Monday that the FBI must expedite release of the documents sought since April by Sibel Edmonds, a former contract linguist with the agency.

The Justice Department's inspector general is investigating whether the FBI retaliated against Edmonds, who was fired last spring and subjected to a security review after she made allegations about security lapses. The bureau cited substandard performance for the dismissal.

The Associated Press reported in June that Edmonds' allegations ranged from shoddy transcriptions by unqualified translators to suggestions that one interpreter with a relative who works at a foreign embassy may have compromised national security.

The translator program has played a significant role in interpreting interviews and intercepts of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network since Sept. 11.

After her firing, Edmonds filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act seeking records about herself, her personnel file and her whistle-blower allegations. She asked that the request be expedited, but the FBI refused, arguing that "the documents that she seeks have nothing to do with any wider concerns of the American public."

But in a ruling Dec. 3, Huvelle disagreed. She cited reports by the AP, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune and television news programs in concluding that Edmonds had offered ample evidence of media interest in her allegations. The judge said Edmonds' charges "call into question the integrity" of the FBI and public confidence in the agency.

"The real reason the FBI is fighting the release of these records is because they will show how poorly the FBI has performed in the aftermath of 9/11," said David K. Colapinto, a lawyer for Edmonds.

FBI officials have said they believe the agency's translator program is solid and secure. There have been some minor problems as a large number of translators, many of them Arabic speaking, were brought aboard after the Sept. 11 attacks, officials said.